I'm not a great literary critic by any means, but I'll try and give my thoughts.
Recently Finished: Tanya Huff's "A Confederation of Valor" (compilation of "Valor's Choice" and "The Better Part of Valor" - Military SF that's fun and has a lot of action, while not trivialising or glorifying war (which is not an easy balance to pull off). The primary protagonist, Torin Kerr, is tough in a likeable way, although I do wish the suppourting cast hadn't been shunted off in book 2.
Currently Reading: Kirsten Cashore's "Graceling" - Fantasy. I'm about a third of the way through this, and really liking this. The main character, Katsa, is "Graced" with combat skills and serves as the king's enforcer, but she has a conscience and doesn't want to just be his thug. I'm really liking her character, and her development so far. Crowning Moment of Awesome at the end of Part 1, when
Spoiler
she's brought before the king and about 200 royal guards for disobeying orders, and proceeds to tell him what will happen to those guards if they attempt to kill or imprison her.